Packaging machine



Aug. 21, 1923.

R. HERZ ET AL PACKAGING MACHINE Filed March 25. 1918 14 Sheets-Sheet 1 WW ill Aug. 21, 1923.

R. HERZ ET AL PACKAGING MACHINE Filed March 25, 1918 14 Sheets-Sheet 2 oosoooomuoeoomoooea.a:

Aug. 21, 1923.

R. HERZ ET AL PACKAGING MACHINE Filed March 25, 1918 14 Sheets-Sheet 5 Aug. 21, 1923.

R. HERZ ET AL PACKAGING MACHINE Filed March 25,1918 14 sheets-Sheet 4 Aug. 21, 1923.

R. HERZ ET AL PACKAGING MACHINE File d March 25. 1918 14 Sheets-Sheet 6 7 3 uewboz afiozmu W Aug. 21, 1923.

R. HERZ ET AL PACKAGING MACHINE Filed March 25. 1918 14 Sheets-Sheet R. HERZ ET AL PACKAGING MACHINE Aug. 21, 1923.

Filed March 25, 1918 14 Sheets-Sheet 5 R. HERZ ET AL PACKAGING MACHINE Filed March 25, 1918 14 Sheets-Sheet 10 R. HERZ ET AL Aug. 21

PACKAGING MACHINE Filed March 25, 1918 14 Sheets-Sheet 11 Aug. 21, 1923. 1,465,921

R. HERZ ET AL PACKAGING MACHINE Filed March 25. 1918 14 Sheets-Sheet llllllllllliHH I llllllllllllllh R. HERZ ET AL Aug. 21, 1923.

PACKAGING MACHINE Aug. 21, 1923. 1,465,921

R. HERZ ET AL ACKAUING MACHINE Filed March 25, 1918 14 Sheets-Sheet 14 Patented Au 21, 1923.

v UNITED STATES" nunonrn nnaz, or new nocn'nLm,

NEW YORK, AND EUGENE CONTI, OF WEST NEW YORK, NEW- JERSEY,'ASSIGNOBS CPO ALEXANDER HEBZ.

PACKAGING MACHINE.

Application filed March '25, 1918. Serial No. 224,504.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, RUDOLPH Hnnz and EUGENE CONTI, citizens of the United States, and residents, respectively, ofthe city of New Rochelle, Westohester county, State of New York, and the town of West New York, Hudson County, State of New Jersey, the above-named petitioners, have invented an Improvement in Packaging Machines, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to packaging machines, and to various component parts of such machines. In one of its aspects, described herein by .way of example, our invention finds useful application in packaging machines which are substantially automatic in their operation. More particularly our invention ma be embodied in packaging machines which are adapted not only to automatically insert the articles to tainers, but also to produce such containers.

Among other objects, it is one of the ob-- jects of our invention to provide an improved construction in machines of the character described, and in the various component parts of such machines, whereby the same will be rendered more certain and efficient in operation and will be otherwise improved, as will be hereinafter described.

While various articles may be packaged by means of the machines made in accordance with our invention, we have, for purposes of illustration, shown and described a type of machine more especially adapted for packaging such articles as drinking straws or similarly shaped articles.

By way of example, we have in the accompanying drawings illustrated a preferred embodiment of our invention, and

therein:

Figure 1 is a plan view, somewhat diagrammatic, with certain portions omitted to render the showing clear;

Figure 2 .is,a diagrammatic view of the artic e-feeding mechanism, partly in cross section;

Figure 3 1s a similar view in elevation; Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view, partly in cross section, showing the mechanism for feedin r a strip of paper or other material of, which the container is formed;

Figure 5 is a similar view in elevation; Figure 6 is an enlarged detail view of the mechanimn for assembling or inserting the be packaged into conarticlesinto the container, this view also showing the mechanism for actuating the conveyor;

Figure 7 isan enlarged cross section of said assembling or inserting means;

Figure 8 is a front elevation of said means;

Figure 9 is an enlarged detail view of, the mechanism for holding the containers, in the form of tubes, on the rotary conveyor;

Figure 10 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the feeding means, showing the mechanismior holding the container open while the articles are being inserted therein;

Figure 11 is an enlarged detail view of the mechanism that actuates the article feeding device;

Figure 12 is a front elevation of the wrapper-cutting mechanism;

Figure 13 is a side elevation of the wrapper-cutting mechanism;

Figure 14 is an enlarged detail view of the mechanism for holding the paper tubes or other containers in place on the rotary conveyor;

Figure 15 is a front elevation of the same, partly in cross section;

Figure 16 is a similar view showing the container about to be lowered on to the rotary conveyor;

Figure 17 is a similar view showing the container in position on the rotary conve or; Fi ures 18, 19, 20, 21, 22,23, '24 an 25 are diagrammatic views illustrating the assembling of the straws or other articles in the containers;

Figure 26 is a detail view of a portion of the straw loading mechanism;

Figure '27 is a diagrammatic view of a plurality of safety devices that may be used with our invention.

Reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the various views.

The articles to be packaged, such as the straws 10 in the hopper 11 are fed on to an endless belt 12, by means of the feed wheel 13, and are then conveyed to the assembling mechanism 14 of the machine. (See Figure 2.) In wrapping the articles 10, a roll of paper or other container-forming material 15 the machine at right angles to the strawis mounted on the frame of mechanism, and is then threaded set of printing rolls 16, under a guide roll 17, over an adjustable guide roll 18, under another guide roll 19, past the safety device 187 and then through the crimping mechanism 20. The substantially tubular wrapper thus formed, is then cut into the desired lengths by means of a cutting: mechanism 21, and the wrappers are then placed on a rotary conveyor 22 which carries them into alignment with the straws 10 in the assembling mechanism 14. The straws 10 are then inserted into the Wrap pers in a manner hereinafter described, and the finished product is then conveyed to a receptacle 23 by means of an endless belt conveyor 24.

\Ve shall now describe in greater detail the component parts of our machine, beginning with the straw-feeding device 25. (See Figure 2.) In the hopper 11 the feed wheel 13, mounted on the shaft 26 and rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow, has a corrugated surface 27 to receive the straws 10 and to feed them one b one on to a belt 12. In doing this it is dbsirable to use a friction roll 28 which is mounted adjacent and tangent to the feed wheel 13 and rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow thereby tending to stir up the straws 10 and facilitate the feeding of the straws into the corrugations of the feed wheel13; The shaft 26 extends outside of the hopper 11 and has mounted thereon a ratchet wheel 28", see Fi ure 11, which is actuated in a counter clockwise direction by means of the pawl 29 mounted on the arm 30, which in turn is secured to the eccentric 31 upon the shaft 32, which is driven b any suitable means, not shown, from the shaft 49. The pawl 29 is attached to the member 29' which is loosel mounted on the shaft 26. By means 0 the sprin 28' the pawl 29 is kept in engagement witfi the teeth of the ratchet wheel 28". The arm 30 engages within the slot 30' of the member 29'. In this way the ratchet wheel 28" and through the said wheel the shaft 26 are intermittently actuated. It will also be noted that the conveyor 12 is driven by means of the ratchet 50, which is mounted upon the shaft 51, and is actuated by the pawl 50' which is fixed to the arm 30, said shaft having fixedly mounted thereon the ear wheel 52, the teeth of which mesh with t e cross rods 38 of the endless conveyor 12, thereby intermittentl actuating such conveyor in synchronism with the feed wheel 13 in the hopper 11. (See Figures 7 and 11.) When the straws 10 are fe to the eonve or 12 they lie between the cross rods 38 and are fed on toward the assembli mechanism 14, where the drop by avity into a slot 39 (see Figure 7), and unzfe r a pair of fingers 40, which, with proper timing from the main drive shaft feedin throng a 37, oscillate in a. clockwise direction to periodically assist the straws to drop into the recess 62. This 0 eration is brought about by means of the s aft 42 and the arm 43 having a link connection 44 with the arm 45, which is pivoted at 46, and has a turneddown member 47 ridin on the cam 48 which is fixedly mounted on t e shaft 49, said shaft being driven by means of the bevel ars 33, 34, 35 and 36 respectively from t e main shaft 37.

At the time the straws 10 are placed in the recess 41, there is operated a releasing mechanism for such straws. Said releasing mechanism consists'of a plate 53 and a late 54 upon which the plate 53 rests, said p ates being reciprocated in opposite directions by means of the shaft 55 having a pair.of links 56 and 57 mounted thereon. The shaft 55 is oscillated by means of the crank arm 58 riding upon cam 59 (see Figure 7), said cam being mounted upon the shaft 49 which is actuated by the bevel gears 33 and 34 from the drive shaft 37. It'will be understood that when the plates 53 and 54 move in op posite directions, the se arate the plates 60 and 61, carried by t e p ates 53 and 54 respectively, thereby allowing the straws 10 to drop into the recess 62 aided by the fingers 40, the straws now being ready to be inserted into the paper tubes hereinafter to be described.

We will now describe the course of the strip of paper or ,other container-forming material leading up; to the assembling mechanism 14 of the machine, at which oint the straws or other articles are inserte into the containers. Referring to Figure 4, the roll of paper or other container-forming material 15 is threaded through the pair of rinting rolls 16, under the guide roll 1 and over the adjustable guide roll 18, which is slidably mounted on a standard 63. This guide roll is adjustable in the slot 64 for the purpose of bringing the imprint on the aper into a central position on the tube a ter the same has been cut by means of the cutting mechanism 21. After the paper leaves the guide roll 18, it asses under the guide roll 19 and around t e rod 65,?(see Figure 1), and by any suitable 'means, such as the crimping mechanism shown, is formed into a continuous tubular body with the rinting on the side opposite to the seam, t 0 overlappin edges of the strip, now in tubular form, being seamed together by means of the pressure of the crimping mechanism. It will be noted that the printing of the impression on the fiat strip, the subsequent rolling of the strip into tubular form, the feeding of the formed tube to the discs 68 and 69 from the forming mechanism and the flattening of the thus formed container in its received position results in the location of the printing on one flat side of the container, that is to say, on the side opposite the seam. We have illustrated diagrammatically in F igure 4, a small crimping roll 66, which is pivoted in a slot in the rod 65, and mounted to rotate therein. The crimp ing roll 66 is frictionally driven by means of a larger crimpin roll 67, the rollsc6fii and 67 being corrugate as shown.

After the tube thus formed leaves the crimping mechanism, and has been cut into the desired lengths, such lengths are successively transferred to therotary conveyor mechanism 22 which consists in art of a pair of corrugated discs or whee 68 and 69. These'corrugated wheels serve as rotary conveyors and are actuated (see Figures 6 and 8), in a clock-wise direction by means of the pawl 70 and the ratchet 71 which is mounted upon the shaft 72. The pawl 70 is pivotally connected to a rocking arm 73 as at 74. The arm 73 is mounted upon the shaft 75 and leads back to a cam 76 (see Figure 1) which is mounted upon the main drive shaft 37. When the paper 15is severed as at 21, it becomes a tube77 which is dropped by gravity on to the rotary conveyor 22 at a point corres nding to the vertical axis of the latter. his tube 77 is then carried around in a clock-wise direction until it reaches a point substantially corresponding to the horizontal axis of the rotary conveyor 22. This brings the tube 77 into alignment with the straws 10 within the recess 62, which straws are to be inserted into the tube 77 It will be understood that when the tube is dropped upon the conveyor 22, the end of the tube farthest away from the straws is closed, as by crimpin the same by means of the end crimping rolls 78 and 79 respectively, which rolls are actuated by the train of gears 80 and 81. (See Fi re 8.) The crimping roll 78 is fixed to the s aft which carries and is rotated by the gear 80, the latter gear being driven by the gear 81 which is carried and rotated by the shaft 72, the latter in its turn being driven by the pawl 70 and the ratchet 71 previously de scribed. The crimping roll 79 on the other hand, is rotatably mounted on the swinging arm 79 fixed on the shaft 79 which is carried in suitable bearings by the frame of the machine and at its outer end carries the arm 79 which is downwardly pressed by the spring 7 9*, by which means the crimping roll 9 1s pressed against the crimping roll 78 which, by frictional engagement with the roll 79 causes the latter to be rotated. The outer end of each tube 73 is gradually fed, by the action of the rotary conveyor (11888 68 and 69 which carry the tube 77 in between the rotating crimping rolls'7 8 and 79 which act to close the end of the tube 77 by their A crimping action, the rolls 78 and 79 aving meshing corrugations on their outer surfaces to produce the desired effect.

When the tube 77J is brought into alignment with the straws 10 in the recess 62, the rod 83 is inserted into said recess by means of the reciprocating rack 84 whic meshes with the gear 85, said gear being actuated by the gear 86 which in turn meshes with the rocking se mental car 87, which is pivoted as at 88 an rocked y means of the rod 89 eecentrically pivoted to the rotated disc 89, (see Figure 5,) said disc being mounted upon the shaft 90 and deriving its power from the main shaft 37 by. means of the gears 91 and 92. Before the straws are inserted into the tube 77, one end of the tube 77 is slid onto the funnel or similar shaped member 93, which is mounted upon an arm 94, (see Fi re 4) by means of plate 100 and the ta is thus pushed towards thestraws within the recess 62, said funnel member 93 serving to hold the end of the tube 77 open while the straws are bein inserted. The member 93, after the Stl'flWSiB-VB been inserted into the tube is actuated away from the assembling mechanism by means of the reciprocating rod 94 and the cam 95 to restore the loaded tube back to its proper position on the conveyor. The rod 94 is actuated by being mounted on an arm 96, which is pivoted as at 97 to a crank 98, which in turn has a roller 99 riding on the cam 95. This cam is connected to the shaft 90 and derives its power through the gears 91 and 92 from the main shaft 37.

When the tube 77 is to be held in position i on the member 93, it is, as already stated, actuated towards the loading mechanism and onto member 93 by means of the backing plate 100 which is mounted upon .a sliding member 101. (See Figures Sand 9.) Thissliding member 101 is actuated by means of a. crank member 102 which is mounted upon the shaft 103, (see Figure 9) said shaft leading back to a bell crank lever 104 which has an arm 105 ridin upon the cam surface 106 mounted upon a isc which is carried b the shaft 37. When the tube 77 is actuate onto member 93, the finger member 107 (see Figures 6 and 10), which is pivotally secured to the upright member 108 at 109, and is normallyheld against the member 93 by the compression spring 110, is raised away from the member 93 by means of a rocking arm 111 which is pivoted at 112 and is rocked by means of an eccentric 113, rod 114 and the pivotal connection 115 (see Figure 10), to permit the member 93 to receive the tube 77. Further actuation of the eccentric 113 after the member 93 has been inserted within the tube 77 withdraws the arm 111 from the member 107 and permits the latter to he s ring-pressed by the spring against t at end of the tube 77 which is received by member 93. By this means the tube 77 .is held upon the member 93 while the member 93 receives the straws, while the straws are being inserted into the tube, and while the member 93 is being actuated away from the straw-loading mechanism to its forward position; In the reverse operation the arm 111 is actuated away from the end of the tube 77 in which the member 93 has been inserted. The member 93 is then withdrawn from this end of the tube 77, the tube 77 being prevented from following the member 93 by means of its retention under slight pressure between members 178 and 179 sub sequently to be described. After the straws 10 have been inserted into the tube 77 the rotary conveyor 22 moves in a clock-wise direction and carries the tube containing the straws downwardly between the crimping rolls 116 and 117, which crimp the other end of the tube 77. The crimping roll 116 is mounted on the shaft 82' which is driven by the gear 82 from the gear 81. The crimping roll 117, on the other hand, is rotatably mounted on one arm of the pivoted bell crank lever 117 and is spring-pressed by the spring 117", (see Figure 10), against the crimping roll 116, which by frictional;

engagement with the roll 117, causes the lattcr to be rotated. The remaining open end of each tube 77 is gradually fed by the action of the rotary conveyors 68 and 69, which carry the now loaded tubes 77 between the rotating crimping rolls 116 and 117, which rolls act to close the end of the tube 77 by their crimping action, the rolls 116 and 117 like the rolls 78 and 79 having meshing corrugations on their outer surfaces to produce the desired result. This, it will be seen, completes the assembling of the articles within the containers and the completed package is then dropped on to the conveyor belt 24.

It ma here be appropriate to describe the safety evices which may be incorporated in the machine of our invention. Associated with the cross rods 38 of the conveyor 12 is an indicating device, preferably an electric bell, which serves to indicate when there is a defective straw between a pair of bars 38 of the conveyor 12, or when such straws are altogether missing. The indicating device may comprise a contact lever 210 pivoted as at 211 and having a portion 212 which is intended to contact with the straws between the rods 38. Preferably a lurality of contacts 210 are employed, as il ustrate'd in Figure 1. Each contact is provided with a contact portion 213 co-operating with a similar contact portion 214 connected by suitable wiring to a source of current, such as a battery 215, which is in turn connected to an electric bell 216, the other terminal of the bell being preferably grounded on the machine. The arrangement is such that when a straw is missing from between a pair of rods 38, or when either end of the straw is short, in the case of defective straws,

the portion 212 of either or both contact members 210 will drop to thereby bring one or more pairs of contacts 213 and 214 together to thereby close the circuit through electric bell 216 to notify the operator that a straw is missing or defective. The operator may thereupon remove the defective straw and substitute a perfect one therefor, or insert in roper position between the rods a straw w are one is missing.

In order to prevent serious damage to the machine in case the straw-loading mecha nism becomes plugged up by reason of the ejecting member 83 failing, for one reason or another, to remove the straws from the loading mechanism, we may emplo safety means, preferably of the character escribed in Figure 27, where is shown a belt 188 which may be shifted to either the driving pulley 189 or the idle pulley 190 on the drive shaft 191. The belt is driven from either of a plurality of pulleys 192 on the main drive shaft 193. For shifting the belt from the drive pulley 189 to the pulley 190 in order to stop the machine, we prefer'to employ the means illustrated, comprising a clutch 194 operable by means of a lever 195 pivoted at 196, a spring 197 being provided to normally urge the clutch so as to bring the belt into idle or non-driving position. The operation of member 195 to bring the belt into driving position serves to bring the catch 198 on member 194 into locking engagement with a core 199 of an electromagnet 200, the core being held in locking engagement with catch 198 by means of a spring 201. Asmeans for operating the electromagnetically controlled clutch we refer to employ a source of power, as a battery 202, one terminal of which may be grounded, as at 203, and the other terminal connected both to contact 204, of the pair of contacts 204 and 205 of the safety device 187 which serves to stop the machine when the strip of container formin material is broken, and also to the insu ated contact 206 of the pair of contacts 206 and 207 of safety device 208 which is for the purpose of stopping the operation of the machine when the loading mechanism fails to properly function. Contacts 205 and 207 are earthed, as shown at 209 and 217 res ectively. Insulated contact 206 is mounte on one part of the rod 89' made up oftwo telescoping, relatively movable portions spring pressed together by spring 89", as more clearl shown in Figures 5 and 27.

It will t us be apparent that when the stripl of container-forming material breaks, eart ed contact 205, which is outwardly drawn by spring 218 will contact with contact 204 to thereby close one of the circuits through the electromagnet 200 to release core 199 from engagement with catch 198 to thereby cause be t 188 to be moved by clutch 194 underthe action of s ring 197 onto idle belt 190 to thereby stop t e operation of the machine. Similarly, when e ectbe properly reci enga ing member 183 meets an obstacle in the straw-loading mechanism so that it cannot rocated, such obstruction to its action wil cause the two telescoping sections of rod 89 to be separated to mementarily bring contacts 206 and 207 into ment with each other to close their 011131115 through electromagnet 200 to stop the operation of the machine as already described for safety device 187.

Referring now to the cutting or severing mechanism, (see Figures 12 and 13), it is desirable that while the paper in tubular form is traveling on the rod 65, the cutting mechanism, that is, the shear knives 118 and 119, should travel with the paper while the latter is being cut or severed. For this purpose the shear knives 118 and 119 are mounted to oscillate on two independent shafts, that is, the shear knife 118 is mounted to oscillate on the shaft 126 and the shear knife 119 is mounted to oscillate on the shaft 121 within which the shaft 120 is free to turn. The shaft 121 has a bevel car 122 connected to it on its further end. his bevel gear 122 meshes with the ar 123 which in turn meshes with the gear 124, which latter gear is mounted upon the shaft 120. 126 is an arm pivoted as at 127 to the pivoted cross her 137 at 135 arm 128, which is in turn pivoted at 128' and is spring-pressed in an upward direction by the spring 127 The arm 126, as is subsequently described, is linked a's at 135 to a member 137 carrying the gear 123. This train of gears is mounted on a movable block or hearing 125 which is secured to a rack 129 which meshes with a segmental gear 130 pivoted at 131, and actuated by means of a cm 132 which is mounted upon the shaft 133, this shaft being driven through the bevel gears 35 and 36 from the main shaft 37. (See Figure 1.) When the cutting mechanism is in the act of severing the paper tube, the segmental gear 130 carries the rack 129 and the bearing block 125 in the direction in which the paper is passing until the cam 134, carried b the shaft 133, releases the arm 128, where y said arm and the arm 126 are raised, which is linked to a memsaid member carryin the gear 123. As the arm 126 rises, it osci lates the gear 123 and by this means the gears 122 and 124 are oscillated towards each other on the shafts 121 and 120 res ctivelv, thereby closing the knives 118 an 119 while they are traveling in a direction with and at the same speed as the paper tube. It will'be seen that when this operation is completed, the spring 138 brings the cross head carrying t e knives back to its normal position as shown in Figure 12..

After the tube 77 has been severed from 1 plates members 143 the continuous paper tube, it is necessary to keep said tube in position upon the conveyor members 68 and 69 until it reaches the assembling station at a oint corresponding to the horizontal axes o' the rotary conveyor and we accomplish this result by means of the mechanism shown in Figures 6, 8 and 14 to 17 inclusive. After the tube 77 has been severed, it is inserted between the 139 and 140 which serve to slightly flatten the tube and to deliver the same in such flattened condition to the conveyor members 68 and 69. Plate 139, oontainin the longitudinal cavity 139', is mounte upon the standards 141 and 142, said standards carrying the slidable members 143 and 144, which are normally held in a raised position by means of the springs 145 and 146. (See Figure 16.) Secured to these slidable members 143 and 144 are the blocks 147 and 148 respectively, carrying the fingers 149 and 150 respectively, said fingers being pivoted to the blocks at 151 and being held in position, as shown in Figure 16, by' means of the respective springs 152. Fixed to the shaft 154, which is suitably supported for rotation in the frame of the machine, are the arms 153 which are actuated, '(see Figure 14), by the cam 155 through the arms 156 and 157 to force the slidable members 143 and 144 downwardly against the action of the springs 145 and 146, respectively, or to ermit said slidable members to be raised by such s rings. The severed tube 77 is passed un er the plate 139. and drops into the recess as of recessed blocks 160 and 161, said blocks being in an elevated position, but not at the extreme limit of their upward movement. At this juncture the arms 153 are further raised by the action of the cam 155, thus permitting the slidable members 143 and 144 to be raised by the action of the respective springs 145 and 146 and the plate 140 to be passed under the tube 77, so that such tube is now held slightly flattened between the plates 139 and 140. The tubes are flattened by the ment of the plate 140, which is carried by the and 144 againstthe tube 77 within the cavity 139' of the fixed plate 139. The late 140 is reciprocated by means of an e on ated member 162,- secured at one end to tl ie member 163 which is fixed to the shaft 154 to oscillate therewith, and at'the other end to the arm 164 pivotally keyed to the arm 166, the arms 164 and 166 being pivotally supported at 165. The arm 166 at its upper extremity fits within the recess 16? of the plate 140, so as to cause said plate to be reciprocated, the arm 166 being oscillated through the arm 164, pivoted at 165, the link 162, the member 163 and the shaft 154, the latter being oscillated by means of the arm 157, the cam 155 an the link mechanism 156. At this point of the operation of the machine the fingers 149 and 150' pivoted at 151 to the blocks 147 an 148, each block being provided at its in ner face with the in 158, are so positioned that the pins 158 Wlll be above and free from contact with the inner face of the hubs 68' and 69' of the rotary conveyor discs or wheels 68 and 69 respectively, thus permitting the fingers149 and 150 to be pressed forward by the springs 152 and to serve in conjuction with t e recessed blocks 160 and 161 respectively to position the respective ends of the tube 77, said fingers being limited in their forward motion by bearing against the upper recessed faces of the respective blocks 160 and 161. When the slidle members 143 and 144, carrying the blocks 147 and 148, the fin rs 149 and 150, respectively, and associated mechanism, are moved downwardly by the action of the cam 155 and the associated arms 153, and the slightl flattened tube 77 enters a pair of aligne corru ations, the pins 158 are enaged by the hubs 68' and 69', respectively, t ereby throwing the fingers 149 and 150 back into the position shown in Figure 14, to

release the ends of the tube as the latter is deposited on the corrugations, said fingers being held in this position by means of the respective awls 159, the hooked ends of which are ownwardly pressed by means of the compression sprin s 159'. It is understood that the intermittent driving mechanism for the rotary conveyor discs 68 and 69 is so timed that said discs will be momentarily stationary While a tube 77 is being depplslted in a pair of aligned corrugations.-

en the tube is to be deposited in the pair of alignedcorrugations of the rotary conveyor discs 68 and 69, the late 140 slides from underneath the tube 7 thereby leaving the tube deposited within the recessesof the blocks 160 and 161. Further downward movement of the sliding members 143 and 144, carrying the recessed blocks 160 and 161 I respectively, causes the tube 77 to be received by Figure 14). At this poi it of the operation of the machine, the rotary conveyor discs 68 and 69 are advanced through an angle corresponding to the space of one corrugation, thus permitting the cycle of steps to be repeated. It is to be understood that while the intermittent conveyor discs are stationary, not only do the aligned corrugations of such discs receive the tube 77 at a point corresponding to the vertical axes' of these discs, but during such stationary period the tube which is at a point correspond ing to the horizontal axes of the discs is in the act of being loaded with the straws or other articles to be packaged. In the upward or receiving movement, as contrasted with the downward or discharge movement of the members 143 and 144 and the assoa pair of aligned corrugations, (see r .link 171 pivoted to an arm 172, which is mounted u on a shaft 173, said shaft having a mem er 174 which rides upon a cam 175 securediito the shaft 37 It Wlll be seen, from Figure 1, that the fingers 169 and 170 are operated directly from the cam 175 by means of the action of the shaft 173. It is to be understood that the operating mechanism for the fingers 169 and 170 is so timed that the said fingers will be actuated into contact with the conveyor discs 68 and 69 respectivel immediately after a newly formed tu e 77 has been de osited in a pair of aligned corrugations of said discs, the said finfgers making contact alon those portions 0 the respective conveyor iscs 68 and 69 which immediately precede the respec- 6 and 8, until it reaches the horizontal axis a of the rotar conveyors 68 and 69, (see Figure 6), at w ich point the elon ated recessed cross bar 178 is withdrawn roin the stationary bar 179 to permit the bar 178, on the return movement of the same, to receive the tube 77 in the recess 185 to position said tube durin the loading operation. The bars 178 and 1 9 constitute supporting means for the tubular container which prevent buckling or bending thereof as the straws are inserted longitudinally into the same. The bar 178 is actuated by the cross head 180 sliding upon a sleeve 180 fixed to the shaft 72, said cross head being actuated by means of an arm 181 pivoted to an arm 182 which is mounted upon the shaft 75 which carries a member 183, said member being actuated by means of a cam 184. (See Figure 1.) It will also be seen, referring to Figure 8, that the recess 185 is located in the cross piece 17 8 to holdthe tube 77 in such a position that the member 93 will easily find the end of the tube 77. When the tube 77 has received the straws or other articles to be packaged, and reaches the bottom of the rotary conveyor members 68 and 69, it is sometimes found necessary to positively release the tube 77 from the aligned corru ations of said conveyor members. For t is purpose we provide an arm 186 which is mounted on the shaft 75 and works in unison 

